The Extra in the Ordinary, exploring exciting and strange facts and fiction around everyday things I see on my daily walks.

The Stingy Nettle

‘Be careful of those nettles,’ one of the first things I was told as a child. It came a little late, as I did manage to get myself stung. The second thing I learned about stingy nettles is to find a dock leaf, which has nothing to do with the nettle and more to do with my sting.

For many years after, all I ever saw were stingy nettles, meaning avoid. They are bad; if they appear in the garden, get gloves and pull them up.

Imagine if someone took a first impression of me on a given day because of their behaviour, and I was forever branded as evil Tina, crazy Tina, and I should be avoided altogether.

Luckily nettles are resilient little plants and spring up everywhere, as I can attest to from my daily walks.

But it was much later that I discovered all the amazing things there are to know about nettles. Once I looked past the stingy aspect, this plant’s true scope let itself be known to me.

Nettles have been used for centuries medicinally, as food, fibres and dyes for clothing.

But first, let’s take a look at –

Nettles and Wildlife Diversity

Nettles create safe havens for many butterflies and moths, from the Peacock to the Burnished Brass. This is because the stingy aspect of the nettle protects them from grazing animals. Ladybirds and woodland birds, including the Blue Tit, feed on the aphids that live on them and in late summer, they also are a source of food for the seed-feeding birds.

Stingy Nettles

So why are nettles stingy? Well, long before we discovered the hypodermic needle, plants have been using this type of needle to protect themselves. Basically, the plant is covered in hollow hairs. If you brush against them, the tips break off. Once this happens, the hair turns into a hypodermic needle and injects its venom into your skin, causing a stingy reaction. The venom comprises formic acid in a low dose, histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin, tartaric and oxalic acids.

On a side note – An Irish doctor called Francis Rynd (1801–1861) is known for inventing the hollow needle used in hypodermic syringes. The first recorded use was on March 12th 1845, when he used it on a patient called Margaret Cox. Read more here https://www.medicalindependent.ie/in-the-news/news-features/through-the-eye-of-the-needle-a-remarkable-medical-life/

Medicinal use of Nettles

Nettles have been used to treat an array of ailments dating back to the Romans, anecdotally using it to warm themselves up, to Culpeper, a 17th Century herbalist who used them to treat everything from wheezing to gout. A complete outline of Culpeper’s treatments is available here http://www.complete-herbal.com/culpepper/nettles.htm

Nettles have been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and inflammation, lower blood pressure, help with the symptoms of hay fever and lower blood sugar levels. (Studies are still ongoing)

Clothing

Nettles have been used for centuries to create woven cloth and yarn. The fabric was often referred to as ‘poor man’s linen’.

A short video showing how nettles are harvested and turned into fibres on a small scale.

As Cotton production grew from the 16th Century, nettle declined, with a short-lived resurgence during WW2 in Germany when it was used to make soldiers’ uniforms. Recently there has been renewed interest in it as a sustainable fabric to produce and is biodegradable.

Food

Nettles contain Vitamins A, C, K & Bs. They are rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus, amino acids and much more. They can be used in teas and soups, for pesto, and as a general green leaf vegetable similar to spinach. A quick Google for nettle recipes will leave you with a long list to consider.

Interesting & Quirky

• Don’t pick nettles when they are in flower or the leaves are tinged with purple.
• Don’t harvest nettles from polluted areas.
• Nettles can be picked without being stung, not that I would advise it. Check out this short video – https://youtube.com/shorts/N1Jdqbb9o5o
• Nettle fibre is stronger than cotton and is closer to woven flax.
• Nettles produce male and female flowers.
• In Danish Mythology, it is believed elves are buried wherever nettles grow.
• In Irish folklore, fairies lived close by.
• Thor in Scandinavian mythology is represented by nettles, which is why they were burnt in fires during storms.
• Nettles feature in the Wild Swans’ fable by Hans Christian Andersen. Read the story here http://hca.gilead.org.il/wild_swa.html

The nettle is so much more than stingy. I will be looking at it through new eyes on my morning walks from now on.